I have several pairs that are so noisy when I walk on hard surfaces, it makes me cringe. I don’t have “slapped feet” with rubber soles shoes so fairly sure it isn’t just my gait. Not squeaky, more like a jack-booted villain walking down a tile hallway…or in my case, every aisle of the grocery store. Do I need to sand the bottom, do some moon walking in the driveway to fix it or what? Would rubber stick-on grippers fix it?

Part of my New Year’s resolution was to increase my learning and knowledge. One of my biggest hurdles for me was to get back into reading. I was never an avid reader; truth be known, I read only when necessary meaning school. But now I see the need to read to not just to read, but to learn and grow in knowledge. I read some stats the other days, 5% of millionaires read at least two books a month, while 25% of the population didn’t read a single book all last year. The gap between where you are and where you want to be is often just a few hundred pages away. I learned that is a simple formula; the three steps, a psychological blueprint, to read an entire book every single week. This challenge is about making growth inevitable not just a spare time activity. The challenge starts with trick number one: implementation, intention most people buy books and say I’ll read this later but later never comes. Stop wishing and start scheduling; physically write down the exact time and place you will read, treat it like a doctor’s appointment or a job interview. You wouldn’t skip those so don’t skip your growth. Your growth is a scheduled appointment not something you do when you’re bored for example, I will read in my favorite armchair at 7 AM while having coffee. Be specific so your brain has no excuse excuses. Trick two: taking a 200 page book looks intimidating like a mountain you can’t climb, but let’s look at like a map. It only takes about five hours of total focus to finish a standard book that’s just 45 minutes a day that’s it. break it down into chapters or even 10 page segments,so your brain sees an easy win instead of an impossible task. Success is built on small chunks. Finally use the temptation reward: This is how you make reading feel like a reward rather than a chore. Tell yourself for every chapter I finish I get 15 minutes of my favorite show. You’re anchoring the discipline to a high-level pleasure. Suddenly, your brain associates the focus of reading with the dopamine of your reward. It becomes a habit you actually look forward to.

I’ve had this internal debate that I can’t seem to settle, doggone it! Ought we tuck the polo shirt into shorts and risk making the casual look a little too formal? Or leave the polo untucked and risk looking a wee bit sloppy? Or, it’s a polo and shorts- either way it’s a win, so who cares? What say ye, gentlemen?

If someone could only see your actions and not hear your words, what would they say your priorities are?

Good evening Gents! Just wanted to make a short post to share my progress with the weight loss goals! I am currently 1lb from my goal of 175! I started at 308 just over a year ago. You have to watch your calories is the #1 goal. Second is water intake. And third is even light exercise! You can do this friends! If I can do it, anyone can! I was extremely overweight for my entire life until I started diligently trying to lose at the ripe age of 42! You got this! Stay postive! Stay focused! Once you commit to something see it through until the end!